Ronan Farrow says he and other journalists got National Enquirer blackmail threats related to Trump reporting

Ronan Farrow and at least one other journalist have allegedly received blackmail threats from the National Enquirer after reporting on the tabloid and President Donald Trump.

Farrow revealed the threats Thursday evening after Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos published emails from the tabloid threatening to publish explicit photos taken from his phone if the Washington Post, which he also owns, did not stop investigating the publication, the Post reported.

I and at least one other prominent journalist involved in breaking stories about the National Enquirer’s arrangement with Trump fielded similar “stop digging or we’ll ruin you” blackmail efforts from AMI. (I did not engage as I don’t cut deals with subjects of ongoing reporting.) https://t.co/kHQdWIkVjV

Farrow published a story in April about the Enquirer‘s “catch and kill” practice,” which involves paying off sources and then burying the stories, that helped Trump during his 2016 campaign.

Former Associated Press editor Ted Bridis also tweeted that the media organization had been warned that AMI, the Enquirer’s publisher, hired private investigators to target AP reporters looking into their efforts to help Trump, although he never saw evidence this took place.

The Daily Beast reported that attorneys for AMI aggressively responded, including unspecified threats, to two stories published last week about Bezos and the Enquirer.

The Post obtained documents that show AMI attorneys tried to pressure The Daily Beast not to publish reports suggesting that Trump’s allies were involved in efforts to reveal the Bezos affair.

The tabloid threatened to sue if the website used any material from a former Enquirer executive who has been hired by the website.

Bezos shared threatening emails purportedly from AMI officials, including chief content officer Dylan Howard, who also played a notable role in the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault scandal.

Farrow helped break the Weinstein story into widespread circulation in November 2017.

Don't let Silicon Valley control what you see. Get more stories like this in your inbox, every day.